Men's Lacrosse: Princeton Beats Manhattan in Matinee

The crowd of 611 at Sherrerd Field at Class of 1952 Stadium for Tuesday afternoon's men's lacrosse matinee between Princeton and Manhattan included Johns Hopkins head coach Dave Pietramala and his Blue Jay coaching staff.

Their presence served as a reminder of what was looming for Princeton, a stretch of five straight games against ranked teams - including three straight against teams currently in the top nine - that begins Friday at 5 when Hopkins visits the same stadium.

In the meantime, Princeton had to first deal with Manhattan, which the Tigers did by a 13-7 score to go to 2-0 on the young season while dropping the Jaspers to 0-2. Princeton led 10-2 after three quarters and then played every dressed player in the fourth quarter.

Tom Schreiber led Princeton with four goals and an assist, giving him seven goals and five assists in two games. Tucker Shanley had two goals for Princeton, and seven other players scored once each.

"We saw them there," said Princeton head coach Chris Bates of the Hopkins staff. "My sense is they didn't learn much. We did what we had to do and were very basic. It was good to get the win, and now we can think about the Hopkins game."

One thing the Hopkins coaches saw was the college debut of freshman goalie Eric Sanschagrin, who made 11 saves while allowing five goals while playing the first 53:27. Sansachgrin played in place of senior All-America Tyler Fiorito, who committed a violation of the team's code of conduct and was therefore suspended for the next game.

"I was pretty nervous," said Sanschagrin, from Carlsbad, Calif. "The seniors on defense really helped out. Tyler Fiorito was a calming voice. I was nervous at times. They really got me through it. It was fun to play and get the opportunity to get some time. "

For Fiorito, it was the first game of his career that he did not start. In fact, before Sanschagrin, the last goalie to start a game for Princeton other than Fiorito was Alex Hewit in 2008.

"I made a mistake, and I let myself down and my teammates down," said Fiorito. "I've learned from it, and it won't happen again. I'm looking forward to getting back out there for the Hopkins game."

The game against No. 2 Johns Hopkins will be followed by a game at the Konica Minolta Face-Off Classic against No. 4 North Carolina March 10 and a game against No. 9 Villanova March 13, not to mention the Ivy opener against No. 18 Penn followed by a game at No. 17 Yale.

The Manhattan game saw Princeton score the first three, as Shanley started it off 1:46 into the game and Schreiber scored his first two from there.

It was 3-2 early in the second after the first of Matt Thistle's six points (2G, 4A) for Manhattan, but Princeton would score the next seven.

Among the goal scorers for the Tigers would be freshman Kip Orban and sophomore shortstick defensive middie Jack Strabo, both of whom had their first collegiate points with a goal and assist each. Jonathan Meyers, a senior defenseman, had his first career point with a 50-yard pass to Jeff Froccaro.

As for Sanschagrin, he made four first-quarter saves en route to his 11. Manhattan's Michael Wiatrak made 15 saves; teammate Brian McGrath had three goals.

"It was nice to make some saves," Sanschagrin said. "I'm most proud of how I cleared the ball and didn't make mistakes in the clear. Tyler can have Hopkins. He's had tremendous success against them in his career, and hopefully it continues on Friday."

Princeton outshot Manhattan 44-28, including 38-16 through three quarters. Princeton won 15 of 23 face-offs, with a 10-for-16 day from Peter Smyth while Bobby Lucas won 5 of 7.